Thursday, 25 May 2017

I came across this recipe of Cupcake Jemma's on YouTube last week and I'm a big fan of Carrot Cake - in the form of a cake or cupcakes or a loaf or whatever really! It's an amazing thing and I can't get enough of it!

Method (cupcakes):
1. Preheat your oven to 180°C and line muffin tins with cupcake liners.
2. Firstly add all dry ingredients to a large bowl (so flour, cinnamon, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda, salt and walnuts (or pecans)) and mix together with a whisk, leave to one side for now.
3. In a stand mixer add the caster sugar and 4 large eggs to a bowl. On a low speed to start with - mix until it looks light and mousse-like - this should take a minute or so.
4. On a low speed, gradually add the sunflower oil until it is all incorporated into the egg/sugar mixture.
5. Stop the mixer and add the grated carrot. Now mix briefly on a low speed until everything comes together - 30 seconds will do.
6. You can now add the dry ingredients all at once. Mix until incorporated - again takes about a minute or so.
7. Using an ice cream scoop (or batter scoop) or by adding the mixture to a measuring jug. Fill the cupcake liners 3/4 full. I managed to get 18 with my mixture but some of my cases were rather full so I think you could manage 24 (so 2 full trays).
8. Bake in the oven for 20-24 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean.Method (cream cheese icing):
1. Add 150g of unsalted, softened butter and 240g of full-fat cream cheese to the mixing bowl and beat for 2-3 minutes.
2. Stop the mixer and add half of the icing sugar (so 420g) and mix on a slow speed to start with for 2-3 minutes - you can gradually increase the speed once the icing sugar has started to mix in.
3. Repeat step 2 for the last 420g of icing sugar.
4. The icing should be white and fluffy when ready.
5 . Decorate the cupcakes how you wish.

Note: Cupcake Jemma used a spoonula to decorate ... I used a spoon and got the same result. She said you can use a pallet knife or a piping bag but I thought the icing was too soft to pipe so didn't bother with that.

Let me know what you think in the comments below and if you have any ideas of what I could make next that would be great! Always on the lookout for new things to try :)

Monday, 22 May 2017

On Thursday the reveal for Destiny 2 was on and we got to find out lots of juicy things! There are new subclasses and they tweaked the existing ones. One of the new subclasses is the 'Dawnblade' - the 'Striker' and the 'Gunslinger' we know from Destiny 1.

I've listed below the subclasses and the new/tweaked abilities. I only managed to get what they showed on streams and YouTube channels ... some of the new classes they didn't show like the arcstrider.

DAWNBLADE"Dawn comes on swift wings"

Solar Grenade - a grenade that creates a flare of Solar Light which continuously damages enemies trapped inside.Firebolt Grenade - a grenade that unleashes bolts of Solar Light at nearby enemies.Fusion Grenade - an explosive grenade that causes bonus damage when attached to its target.

Daybreak - press L1 + R1 to weave Solar Light into blades and smite your foes from the skies.Healing Rift - press and hold O to conjure a well of Light that continuously heals those inside it.Empowering Rift - press and hold O to conjure a well of Light that increases the attack power of those inside it.

Phoenix Dive - Hold O while in-air to quickly descend and regenerate health.Skyfire - while Daybreak is active, descend causes explosive damage where you land.Risen Angel - while in air, aim your weapon to hover in place for a short time. Dealing precision damage extends this effect's duration.Igniting Touch - a powerful melee ability that ignites enemies and causes them to explode.

Lightning Grenade - a grenade that sticks to any surface and emits bolts of lightning.Pulse Grenade - a grenade that periodically damages enemies inside its explosion radius.Flashbang Grenade - an explosive grenade that disorients the enemies it damages.

Towering Barricade - a large barrier (Hold O) that can be used for cover or to seal off dangerous areas for a short time.Rally Barricade - a small barrier (Hold O) that allows you to peek over it while aiming down sights and instantly reloads your equipped weapon when you take cover.

Increased Height - upgrades lift to travel to greater heights.Increased Control - upgrades lift for better directional control while in the air.Catapult - upgrades lift to provide a strong initial burst of momentum.

Fist of Havoc - press L1 + R1 to supercharge your fists. While First of Havoc is active, press R2 to slam the ground with the force of a maelstrom, and press R1 to smash shoulder-first into your enemies.

Magnitude - increases the duration of Pulse Grenades, Lightning Grenades, and Aftermath.Aftermath - Fist of Havoc disorients enemies and leaves a damage-dealing field in its wake.Aerial Strike - Fist of Havoc deals more damage the longer its in the air.Shoulder Charge - after sprinting for a short time, press R1 to slam shoulder-first into your target.

High Jump - upgrades double jump with even greater height.Strafe Jump - upgrades double jump with better directional control while in the air.Triple Jump - upgrades double jump with a third jump.

Chains of Woe - precision kills increase weapon reload speed for you and nearby allies.Bombs for Bullseyes - precision hits generate grenade energy.Six-Shooter - Golden Gun can be fired quickly up to 6 times but had a shorter duration.Explosive Knife - throw a knife at enemies that explodes shortly after impact when melee energy is full.

Knife-Juggler - throw a knife at enemies when melee energy is full. A precision kill with this ability immediately recharges it.Gunslinger's Trance - enter a trance with each precision kill, reducing the cooldown of your Golden Gun.Crowd-Pleaser - precision hits with Golden Gun generate Orbs of Light for your allies.Line 'Em Up - precision hits with Golden Gun increase its damage and extend its duration.

Saturday, 20 May 2017

On Thursday night at 5.50pm my alarm on my phone went off and for a minute I forgot what I set it for ... Destiny 2: The Reveal was streaming at 6pm ... so I opened up Twitch on my PS4 and patiently watched the countdown ...

The stream started pre-wall ... and showed a young Zavala being awoken by his ghost. It then went on to show him fighting, discovering the Traveller, meeting people in the settlement below the Traveller, defending the settlement against enemies and then helping to build the wall and then overlooking the finished project. It sounds absolutely crap when I say it in a few short words. Go find it on YouTube its about 2 minutes and you'll be left wanting more when it finishes.

Luke Smith then entered on stage and started to discuss the vision of Destiny 2 which included three main points:

1. "A world that pulls you in" - this is about a story you can relate to, characters that you want to hang out with and work with, having enemies to face.
2. "Amazing things to do" - this is amazing things for everyone no matter your mood. If your a solo player we're changing the way exploring the world works, if your a competitive player they have re-thought the Crucible from first principles.
3. "Always someone to play with" - the raids in Destiny 1 couldn't be experienced by everyone, 50% of people who reached the level cap managed to organise fire teams and complete a raid. That means that tons of players (50%) never had the opportunity to experience Destiny's most unique content. Now we're going to make it that Trials, Nightfall and the raids will finally be available to all players.

Destiny 2's vision boils down to this one statement: "It's a world I want to be in"

Luke then introduced "Homecoming" which is the first mission in Destiny 2. It begins with Cayde asking Ikora if she is playing a practical joke and that if she was - he would be impressed. You can see that there is also a raging lightening storm outside too. Zavala asks Ikora for an update and she mentions that something or someone has sabotaged the Skyline defence systems. Cayde also mentions that comms have been spotty for the last few hours and that every sensor beyond the wall has gone dark. As Zavala walks towards the large window to view the storm, Ikora gives another update saying that there are no results coming from the satellites because they are no longer there!! As another lightening bolt strikes it lights up the storm and hundreds (maybe thousands) of Red Legion ships can be seen coming towards the tower/wall. As Zavala yells "Battle stations!" the ships shoot rockets/torpedoes towards the tower and wall. Zavala activates a Ward of Dawn and yells for everyone to get to him as the tower explodes around them. The camera then pulls back as the ships descend on the city and a large finger looking ship starts to "grasp" the Traveller.

Gameplay then starts ... I won't describe the entire mission but as normal it's the first mission and is relatively easy so you can get used to the controls and new options/weapons etc. The objectives are simple - such as 'defend the tower from 3 waves' 'get to the speaker' etc ... Zavala then sends Amanda Halliday to pick you up to take you to the Command Ship to de-activate the shield generator.

You get to the shield generator room and it's pitch black and a ghostly figure laughs and states: "Your journey ends here".

This ends the gameplay and Luke Smith joins us back on stage. He says "If the giant burning 2 isn't enough of a clue - spoilers we lose!" Destiny 2 is a game that opens with lose. With one fell swoop players loose their powers, their home and most important of all their vaults.

Dominus Gaul is the leader of the Red Legion and since he was raised he was brought up to believe that the Traveller should have chosen him and the Red Legion to bestow the light on not the humans/Earth etc. So he has come to take it ...

Luke then introduces another scene that shows Cayde fighting through an onslaught of Red Legion enemies. There are also snippets from the behinds the scenes people (project leads, lead writers, community head etc) giving comments on what the story is about. They tell us that Dominus Gaul is jealous and wants the light for himself, because he thinks he should have been chosen. He puts the Traveller in a cage and instantly all Guardians loose their powers. They can't walk, only stumble. The tower is lost, the vanguard are scattered ... whether you're a titan, warlock or hunter - you are the hero of this story and you need to get your powers back.

There are also more story missions and cinematics that ever before. There are new world to explore, new strikes, new raids, new weapons, new armour and a pile of brand new exotics. They have also re-designed the weapons slots. There are also new supers too. The dawnblade, the sentinel and arcstrider.

Steven Cotton is next on stage and starts to talk about the worlds they have created. He then moves on and talks about his two kids - 1 is a solo player, loves the campaign and story missions. The other loves to compete and is always playing the Crucible and is in a clan. He tells us that this is the most jam-packed game they have ever made at Bungie. He tells us a few things:

- Campaign "The Red War" - this will send you all over the solar system and to all new worlds.
- Strikes "The Inverted Spire" - a new strike which takes you to a new world
- Crucible - big changes have been made 4vs4 across all the game modes, re-designed HUD and new maps.
- Raid - just tells us that we will have to wait for another day ...
- Worlds - all new activities can be launched from a world and you don't have to go to orbit, patrols still available, public events, chests, now adventures, and lost sectors available. Also people to meet and side missions to do.
- Lost Sectors - small dungeon with a reward and a boss that holds the key
- Map - map has been redesigned and all public events, lost sectors show up on your map.

Steven then introduces 4 new world behind him on screen and tells us that the team can introduce them better so we go to another cutscene

EDZ (European Dead Zone) - the largest they have ever built, they have built a refuge there where you can go.

Titan (a moon of Saturn) - you will find Zavala here, it's a planet with a methane ocean and 40ft waves with an old human settlement there.

Nessus - almost entirely turned into a machine world by the Vex. You will find Cayde here.

Io - (sulphuric yellow moon of Jupiter) - this is the last place in the solar system that the Traveller touched before the collapse. A very sacred place to Guardians especially Warlocks and Ikora (you'll find her here).

We are then introduced to M.E. Chung (social lead) who talks about her experiences of gaming and that the best experiences have always involved other people. She tells us that "Clans" are coming into the games.

She tells us that Clans could only be co-ordinated outside of the game up until now because they will be bringing official clan support into the game. The want to make it easier and simpler for us to manage the clans. They will add in-game rosters and tools for us to built fire teams. There will also be custom banners for the Clans too.

They are also adding a reward system that is shared by every member of the Clan.

They have also added a system called 'guided games' which allows single players to be matched with clans (who have opted in) so they can play together and so that solo player can have a chance to experience all of Destiny's content.

You can also (if someone leaves your party at the last minute) open up your party to guided games so you can find someone to fill the void in your fireteam.

We then move to another cutscene where they talk about clans and guided games in more details with comments from the creators.

Mark Noseworthy joins the stage and talks about Destiny and how it allowed him to reconnected with an old school friend. He spends some time talking about how Destiny is for playing with friends, finding friends, loosing yourself in the game and spending hours playing it.

He then introduces the "Official gameplay trailer" which is mostly snippets from the "Homecoming" mission but just shorter.

Eric Hirshberg (CEO of Activision) is on stage and does the thanks to Bungie and all the people who have talked today. He also thanks all the Bungie people who weren't there today. He also talks about the Beta later on in the Summer. He also talks about Sony and their support since the start of Destiny.

He goes on to talk about the PC fans and that they have already announced that Destiny 2 will be on the PC but not where you can find it. We then cut to a Blizzard rep (forgot his name) on video chat and he tells us that Destiny 2 will be available on Blizzards online service "Battle.net" - if you play WOW you will be familiar with this system already.

Mark thanks everyone again and thanks the people in the audience and the people at home too.

He then ends the stream and tells everyone in the room they can go play Destiny 2.

I am so excited about Destiny 2 and can't wait until September 8th. Let me know in the comments below if you watched the stream and what you thought.

Monday, 15 May 2017

As you will probably know by now I work for Gist Logistics and they have one contract with Starbucks - so basically anything ambient or chilled (like sandwiches, cocoa powder, coffee beans etc) are out of the warehouse I work in. One supplier that Starbucks use is called Divine Chocolate and it's one company I have been aware of since I started with Gist. It was one of my jobs to book their deliveries in and schedule delivery slots so I built up a great relationship with one of their staff Sonia - she has left now unfortunately but she was lovely. She always gave me suggestions on which chocolates were good - it's a pity it's taken me until now to write a post after knowing of this company for nearly 5 years!!

Anyway I bought their taster pack because it gives you lots of different flavours to try. I got 6 different flavours and 2 of each and they are perfectly sized bars - not too much or too less.

My favourite has to be the white chocolate with strawberries. If I remember correctly last year they did a little heart valentines special chocolate in the shape of hearts obviously and they were great!

I loved the milk chocolate with toffee and sea salt - I'm a big fan of sweet and salty and this chocolate bar delivers - it's a sharp crunchy sweet toffee and then you get a little bit of crunchy sea salt too!

The other bars were great too - I'm not a dark chocolate person but they were enjoyable.

Divine Chocolate is the only Fairtrade chocolate company which is 44% owned by cocoa farmers.

Have you ever tried Divine Chocolate? Let me know in the comments below.